There's Something To Be Said For Saying It
by Dispatch22705
Summary: A one-shot, set post- Hole in the Heart, where B&B exchange their first real ILYs. Happy Valentine's Day!


**I used to write fics all the time that 'fixed' moments from the show that I hated. But then, I found that it would make me more dissatisfied with the show, because…you know *she types modestly* my versions were SO much better. And the 10 people who reviewed them agreed. HAHAHAHA…I sort of kid. But the point is that now I try to stay away from 'fixing' things, because it never seems to work, and the 'live and let live' approach to the show works for me. I don't mind a little ambiguity sometimes, unless it makes me nuts.**

**That we didn't see Booth and Brennan exchange "I Love Yous" for the first time is one of those moments that makes me nuts. It's not that I wasn't mostly happy with the premiere, it's just that B&B's 'first time' in that way is just a moment that is OUT THERE in Bones history, with no facts surrounding it. So when that happens, it's like this little seed that gets stuck in my brain. And not a pretty tulip bulb or some other seed that will grow into something beautiful if only watered. I'm talking about a piece of popcorn kernel that gets stuck in your teeth and ANNOYS you until you get it out kind of seed. I hate those kinds of fic-seeds.**

**So, here goes…the first (non-Harbingers in a Fountain 'atta-boy, atta-girl' kind of way) time B&B said I Love You to one another…**

**(PS...couldn't have gotten it done without the lovely help of the even lovelier Sleepless!) **

**-b&b—**

The soft singing still filtered around him, tinged with sadness, and Booth realized his senses were still heightened. His heartbeat felt strong, adrenaline rising, and the pressure of her arm looped in his was making him nearly dizzy. And yet, he felt solid—as grounded as he'd ever been. Everything felt right. He remembered tossing back shot after shot in anger, being pissed at seeing her, but also pleased when she stayed. He remembered another night where she promised she'd always stand by him. Another night where she confessed she wanted to try to be with him. And he couldn't stop remembering the night that had turned into being with her in the morning.

Everyone was now walking back into the Jeffersonian, and Booth watched as the group split apart, each person or couple going its own way. Brennan was still touching him, and he let her lead him into her office. It was dark, dimly lit with the evidence that she'd stopped working for the day. He watched as she rummaged around in her desk for a couple of minutes, and then she was once again standing in front of him. The soft light from the rest of the lab illuminated her pale and pretty face, and he couldn't help but reach a hand toward her. He touched her hair and then pulled his hand back immediately in reflex to years of holding back. "Oh," he murmured and then realized he _could_ touch her. "I mean…oh," he blinked in surprise and let his hand move back toward her. She gave him a soft chuckle, and her own hands went to the lapels of his trench coat, straightening them.

Booth smiled too, and just as he opened his mouth to say something, there was a soft knock on Brennan's office door.

"Hey you two, we're all going out to have a drink. Do you want to come?"

Booth blinked and turned toward Angela—standing in the doorway. Once again, his instincts said to break away from Brennan, but her hands stayed on his chest. And just as his lips parted to answer, she did.

"No, thank you Angela," Brennan answered softly. "We're just going to go home."

Before she turned and walked away, Angela gave them both a soft smile that told Booth she knew pretty much everything. But in that smile was also happiness, as if she recognized that something..._this_...was finally happening. His eyes flew back to Brennan's face, and she was looking at him, the same clear expression in her eyes. _Home._

"Are you ready?" she asked, and he heard the slight trepidation in her voice and knew it generated in the hope that he wouldn't reject her.

"Yeah," he replied, his voice huskier than he intended.

But she didn't say anything as she turned and motioned with her head for them to leave her office.

In the parking garage, he noticed Angela and Hodgins walking toward her car, their fingers twined. And Cam and Sweets were both chatting on their phones as they made their way to their cars. Without over-thinking it, he reached for Brennan's hand, slipping his fingers between hers as they walked over to where their cars were parked. Just as they came to hers, she turned and faced him, meeting his eyes again. What felt like a thousand memories flooded his mind…so many nights ending just like this. But tonight was a beginning. This wasn't the end of their time. Not yet.

"I'll follow you," he said, and she nodded. He stepped backward and watched as she got in her car. And as they drove through the city to her apartment, he knew he'd follow her anywhere.

**-b&b—**

She got there first, and was at his driver's side door to meet him when he turned off the SUV engine. As they started to walk to her apartment, he felt her hand in his, and soon their fingers were once again joined. It was intimate and soft, but with underlying heat and anticipation. In all the years he'd known her, he'd imagined taking her to her bed many times in many ways—frantic, angry, drunk, soaked, desperate, playful. But he'd never quite imagined this easy and charming camaraderie, the quiet offer and acceptance. It almost seemed too easy, but he also knew that they were the only two people who really understood how complicated it had been to get there.

Yet, once at her door, he paused. She pushed her key into the lock and opened her door, but when she entered, he stayed still. Their arms and joined hands formed a smallish bridge between their bodies and over the threshold. Her eyes were wide on his, and once again he noticed the soft way her throat worked. His lips parted, and, "Do you love me, Bones?" slipped between them. His breath rushed out afterward, but following that was a quiet peace in his heart. He'd been through war and heartache and for once, he felt as if he'd come through the fire and felt okay asking—for himself. In the past, he would have said that his love for her would have been enough for the both of them. But now he realized it had to go both ways. And he needed her to love him—for partnership and standing by one another and sex—all of that combined still wasn't what he needed. He wanted her love, and he was okay with admitting it to himself. No more dancing or pretending. And he desperately wanted to know what she was thinking. In his mind, he told himself that he would deal with whatever answer she gave. He'd spent so much time wondering over the years, and he couldn't go back there. Even if she said no, he'd deal, and—

"Yes," she answered, her voice both breathy and matter of fact. But he caught slight flush of her cheeks and he knew she was affected. Somehow, they were standing toe to toe, and he felt her gentle fingers on his arm. "Would…would you like me to prove it to you?" she asked him, willingness covering up any other tone in her voice.

Booth felt himself smile a bit, and though he'd been expecting an answer one way or the other, now that she'd said the words, he was almost in a trance—her admission like relief medicine coursing through a pained body. Her eyes were wide as she waited for his answer. But just as he opened his mouth to answer, she was against him, her soft mouth pinned to his. His arms wrapped around her immediately, and then they were inside her apartment. He vaguely heard the door close and then they were kissing and touching and moaning all the way back to her bedroom.

"Bones," he gasped, his hands busy with hers divesting them of their clothes until there was nothing but her silk sheets beneath him and her soft body above him.

Her fingers wrapped around his wrists and pinned them to his sides. Her eyes were tracing his body, and his nostrils flared as her lips parted at the sight of how hard he was for her. His cock twitched beneath her gaze, straining toward his stomach. But still her eyes traveled down, and he could practically see her mind whirling as she absorbed everything she could learn about him. It was more than sexual—and he recognized that look. It was the same look he saw on her face when she got a new book in the mail or a new set of historical remains. I can't wait to pore over you and learn you, the look said. It was endearing and he almost squirmed. "You're looking at me like you want to learn me, Bones," he joked softly, and her eyes flew up to his in surprise. He almost groaned when he realized it was exactly what she wanted.

"I find I do," she softly admitted in her own way. Her fingertips skittered over his bare shoulder, and Booth stared at her, simultaneously feeling her touch and watching her study him. He could see she was emotionally invested—each stroke of his skin brought a smile to her face. The night before had been sad, rushed, a bit desperate, and perfect. And this was a new perfect. This was the new them, and Booth felt pleasure course through his body. His eyes drifted to half mast, and he concentrated on the way she was touching him. Then her face was over his and when her mouth pressed against his, he lifted one hand to cup the back of her neck. Her hair was soft and sliding through his fingers. And when her fingers trembled against his stomach, he groaned. He wanted more. More pressure, more of her kisses, more of her hands gripping any part of him she wanted.

Wrapping his arms around her waist, he flipped them over, immediately burying his face in her neck and sliding his thighs between hers. She huffed a quick breath and the heels of her hands were pressing into his back. "Bones," he murmured, trailing a path of kisses from her throat to her chest. Booth reverently cupped a full breast in his hand, gently stroking his thumb just below the tip.

"Booth," Brennan arched beneath him, pushing more of herself into his hand. He obliged her silent question and lowered his head to take her nipple firmly into his mouth. The taste of her, combined with the way she was stroking his back made him suck harder. He licked and sucked and made his way over to her other breast only to find himself flat on his back. He blinked, and then laughed at the triumphant look on Brennan's face. She didn't waste any time being gentle as she pinned his hands to his sides once again and trailed her mouth down his body. Her supple lips skimmed the lines of his abdominal muscles and then her fingers were wrapped against his hips as she used the tip of her tongue along the underside of his shaft.

"Fuck," the curse flew from Booth's lips uncensored. Her mouth was so warm and wet, stroking him, and making his eyes roll back in his head. He wanted to stop her and flip her over and pound into her, but he couldn't move. He couldn't do anything but feel. "Bones, Bones…_Bones_," he chanted her name and flexed his fingers in her hair. Eventually, she abandoned his cock and slid back up his body, so low and tight that her nipples grazed his stomach and chest. Her fingers wrapped around him, and she stroked him, hard and fast until he knocked her hand away and palmed the insides of her thighs. "Enough learning," he grunted. "I need you." His hips rocked up when he felt her, wet and ready and hovering over him. "Damn it, Bones. I need you now."

Brennan gripped him and positioned him at her opening, sliding down quickly until they both gasped at the deep penetration. "Yes," she breathed. "Oh, _yes_."

Her blunt little fingernails found his chest and she worked herself over him, forward and back, forward and back, never taking her eyes from his. Booth's jaw clenched and he clasped her hips in his palms, his fingers trembling and pressing into her flesh.

"Booth," she closed her eyes and lowered her mouth to his. "Touch me. Please touch me."

He didn't need to be told twice, and his hands roamed over her back and sides before moving between her bodies to cup her breasts. She grunted, his warm and wet genius, and rocked even faster against him. Booth thumbed her nipples, circling and pressing and lightly scraping his nails over her sensitive peaks. She gasped and squeezed her eyes shut and screwed him into oblivion. When he felt the tell-tale clench of her body around his, he froze, his hands going back to her hips to keep her in place as he bucked up into her from below with rapid thrusts.

She collapsed against him, and he felt her warm mouth on the side of his neck as his own body came down from his orgasm. He stared at her ceiling, trying to get his bearings, and he realized she was murmuring his name. He recognized her thankful tone, tinged with awe that they were really together, because he felt it himself. He wondered how long it would take them to _not_ be so amazed by the new truth. _Possibly forever_, he considered, catching his breath and turning to his side when she moved off him.

He watched her, admired the pretty flush on her neck and chest and waited. Her eyes met his, and he saw satisfaction.

"Do you love me, Booth?" she asked, and he took a deep breath before answering.

"Yeah, I do," he lifted one hand to gently touch her shoulder. "Do you want me to prove it to you?" he softly teased, repeating her earlier words.

When she chuckled, he smiled and leaned to capture her lips with his. He wrapped her in his arms and set out to prove everything he could.

**-b&b-**

**Happy Valentine's Day!**

**Oh, PS... I 'may' in the future write a Hunger Games fic. I don't know yet. But for those of you who have me on Author Alert, well, I wanted to alert you, as the author. **


End file.
